I tried the SIBO diet with Paleo Dietitian Aglaee Jacobs and while it did work I found the longer I was on it the worse I looked, I mean I didn’t look healthy so I think I was missing some key nutrients.. probably because of the lack of mix in veggies and probably not enough iron, two things I find hard to get enough of. I have found another book that I’m reading right now and once I’m done I will try out. It’s called the Paleo approach written by Sarah Ballantyne. Reverse autoimmnue disease and heal your body.

I have long suspected that a variety of my health problems are all related to autoimmune disease for example gluten intolerance – though I suspect celiac disease, vulvodynia/vestibulodynia, low blood platelets (thrombocytopenia) and a few deficiencies such as low iron. Irritable bowel (IBS) I was diagnosed with which I think is actually a few intolerances all wrapped into one. I have managed my IBS by staying away from most grains and dairy.

When I eat gluten I get pimples and welts under my skin, on my head(head gets itchy) and I get head aches(usually the following day). My gums start to swell and get red and bleed, sugar also causes me a few of these problems as well as bladder/urinary tract/yeast infections. Both sugar and gluten cause my vulvodynia to worsen. I also have a variety of other foods that I eat and cause me to feel bloated including dairy(lactose and casein flares my IBS) bananas and potatoes(both white and sweet) cause bloating.

This to me sounds like my immune system is fighting off things it shouldn’t be fighting off, it’s thinking that these foods are intruders, bad things that my immune system attacks when it enters my body. I have suspected SIBO and though it seems much better since my SIBO diet I tried a year ago. I did hemocode intolerance test through rexall pharmacy after doing the SIBO diet (should have done it before). The SIBO diet really limited the foods I could eat and also the nutrience I was getting. I found it hard to figure out what I should introduce back into my diet. I had no clue where to start and got frustrated and just went back to the way I was eating before rather than trying to continue. I am actually still reading Aglaee’s book – Digestive Health with real food but I wanted to go a bit further than this and try to learn more about the effect of nutrition and auto immune disease. I think all my problems are linked to this. Since through my research it all seems to link to this conclusion.

I believe it all started with an infection in 2004 – tuberculosis. Following 9 months of very strong medication. While taking the medication I started having problems – urinary tract infection/yeast infection. I was taking medication to help with the infections every couple months while I was also taking the medication for tuberculosis. Now I wish I hadn’t.

Since then I had to stop taking birth control pills which seemed to worsen my vulvodynia almost immediately when I start taking them. (it took 2 years and numerous doctors to get the vulvodynia diagnosis) I believe not only did i screw up my hormones from years of using the pill I also screwed up my immune system while fighting tuberculosis and taking round after round of medication to get rid of what I thought was infections but likely was SIBO and intolerances to food I had developed.

I’m still figuring all this stuff out almost 10 years later, I went gluten free, then paleo. When I was pregnant I found it incredibly difficult to stick to the paleo diet. My stomach turned at the thought of meat and veggies, I couldn’t stomach most paleo foods, coconut oil/milk, nuts and seeds and since then I have been struggling to get back into eating more paleo, getting away from sugar and gluten that seems to creep back into my diet now and then.

I’m one of those people who when stressed eats and this past year has been the most stressful year ever, things are now getting back on track and I’m looking to get my health back on track as well. It’s a struggle and anyone who is going through the same thing or something similar would agree, it’s not even the least bit easy. I’m taking it day by day, learning and trying to find the energy to make a plan to get my health back to what it was before my pregnancy. A few notes I’d like to mention:

– While getting the IBS diagnonis, my doctors told me my symptoms were all in my head – until the IBS diagnosis

– While getting the vulvodynia diagnosis, my doctors told me it was all in my head. It also took 5 years to get this diagnonsis – which up until the diagnosis I was getting regular prescriptions for yeast/UTI/bladder infections

All my symptoms – so far – for all my health problems aside from low blood platelet levels I have managed to improve from changing to the paleo and sibo diet. I am heading back in this direction and am hoping that the autoimmune protocol will help me as well with the low blood platelet/easy bruising and shins that look like I have been kicked a million times. My gums bleed easily and my shins just never seem to heal. I get a bruise and it still looks like my bruise is there years later. Oddly enough if I get a cut, needle or anything that draws blood I don’t bleed for very long, barely at all. When I had my appendix taken out – which I think is related to my gluten intolerance/celiac – I was told they had a hard time diagnosing my appendicitis because of my low white blood cell count, typically if you have appendicitis you have high white blood cell count because your body is fighting off the infection, you also usually have a fever, which I didn’t. Though I rarely get sick and when I do it doesn’t last very long…so the low white blood cell count seems weird as well as low blood platelets. (something I need to research further)

Dr. William Davis’ Wheat Belly Book Review

Now I can’t say that this book was out at the time when I went Gluten Free but had this book been out at the time, my life would have been SOOO much easier.

The amount of time I spent from when I started until I was comfortable cooking meals for myself, ordering food in restaurants or buying groceries in the grocery store. Ditching the wheat was the longest process ever. It doesn’t happen overnight but one thing I didn’t understand until I read this book is exactly why more and more people were having this problem. Why suddenly people were gluten intolerant or developing Celiac Disease.

An understanding of gluten

I now understand all the health problems that can be associated with eating gluten, I also know why these problems are happening and I know what to do about it. This book didn’t fall into my hands until a few years after I started my gluten free journey but it has helped me when talking with others about gluten.

Sharing with others

I have since given the book to family members and recommended it to several friends. If you are struggling with health problems, if you are overweight or even discovering that you have a gluten intolerance. This book will guide you along the way.

Transition to Paleo way of eating

Since going gluten-free I have actually been naturally transitioning to eating more paleo. Now I am not sure if I’m actually Celiac or not (I took the test but it’s not accurate, it came out negative) but I find that eating gluten causes many health problems with me. I also have found that other foods such as Rice, Oats, milk cause problems, so I have had to go a little further when cutting out foods. The thing is I think the damage that I did to my system from eating the gluten caused many other intolerances. I have problems with chocolate, MSG, sugar. When I researched further I found out that these are common foods that cause problems. I had no idea these foods caused issues with me until I cut them out and attempted to add them back in. Skin problems, energy problems, bloating..

It’s not easy

Going gluten-free or even eating paleo is a struggle, it’s not easy. It’s a huge change from the way you eat. I can’t say I eat it perfectly, especially now. But now I’m knowledgeable enough to know that when I get a reaction, what to look for and I can figure out what it was that I ate and try to avoid it in the future.

Wheat Belly Book Review Video

I spent a few hours working on this video(shooting, editing and posting-slow internet), I wanted to explain a bit about my history and how I got to the point of eating gluten free before I started talking about the book. Hopefully you find it interesting. I appreciate any questions or comments you may have about the book or about my story.

If you haven’t seen my blog post a few months back, Dr. Davis was on the Dr. Oz show. The blog post has the video segment link where he talks about wheat, why it’s addictive, some recipes and lots more.. 3 great segments! Check out my blog post view the video!

Do Med school classes consist of nutrition courses?

This was a question I asked myself when I got home from a doctors visit a few months ago. I became annoyed with my doctor after she told me my daughter and I “need grains for proper nutrition” and “we should be eating them”.

She went on to say “it’s unlikely anyone is intolerant to grains such as rice, it’s just not common.” My decision to stop eating grains was not made just for the fun of it, clearly she thinks it was.

Quick background of why I went gluten/grain free

In 2007 I went to my doctors with a whole host of problems, stomach pain, joint pain, headaches.. She diagnosed me with Irritable Bowel Sydrome told me to eat more fibre and sent me off to see a rheumatologist for my pain.

I took her advice seriously and loaded up on whole grains.. this resulted in symptoms that only worsened. Confused and in pain, I looked up the cause of IBS and found that food intolerances might be the cause. Something my doctor never told me…

It took a few years to pin point which foods did and didn’t cause my problems. Once I discovered it was in fact food intolerances, my pains went away(all of them), I lost faith in my doctor but I gave her the benefit of the doubt, maybe she just didn’t know this so I figured if I told her how I was eating, she would be proud of me and say I’m doing good for finding the root cause of my problem. Imagine my amazement when my doctor informed me that I should be eating these foods, I NEED them for energy and proper nutrition.. I couldn’t believe a doctor would say these things to me. I was shocked, I was saddened, I was confused.

What do Medical Schools teach our doctors?

I searched the course curriculums of several Canadian medical schools. I couldn’t find any obvious courses in nutrition for a general practitioner. I clearly must be wrong, I’m not reading the course information properly, I’m not looking at the right information.

Sure they learn biochemistry and the basics of how food is processed in the body but I kept looking for proof that doctors, the people we go to for health advice, the people who tell us what we should and shouldn’t be eating, what we should be feeding our children learn about nutrition! Afterall, isn’t the most common health problem obesity and weight related illnesses?

IN DENIAL – I MUST BE WRONG!!

I didn’t research much more than this, at that point I didn’t have time but this is something I’ve had in the back of my mind for a few months now. Waiting for the opportunity to speak with someone, a doctor friend or someone that I meet eventually that’s been to medical school. I was positive I must be wrong!

THEN I came across a blog post the other day by Dr. Yoni Freedhoff, actually it’s a post on his blog by a medical student who has been job shadowing Dr. Freedhoof.

Dr. Yoni Freedhoof is a family doctor here in Ottawa, he is also an Assistant Prof. at the University of Ottawa, and founder of the Ottawa’s Bariatric Medical Institute, he also has a very popular health/nutrition blog.

A student of medicine, who wanted to learn about obesity and nutrition, had to take it UPON HERSELF to go above and beyond and learn something that should have been taught to her in year 1 of Medical school! I don’t know about you but I think this is AWFUL!!!

I commend people like Jill Trinacty who realize the importance of learning about nutrition and the role it plays in obesity and her future patients health. It should be mandatory for all students, for all doctors, to learn the basics of nutrition. We go to them for advice, assuming they know the answer. They should know the right answers.

Quick and Easy Paleo meals

Since I started eating differently, that meant I had to do things differently. I had to shop differently, I had to cook differently, prepare meals differently. Not everyone has the time or energy to put into meal planning. I honestly don’t know where I find the time somedays!

For those of you who are busy, who are struggling each week to get things planned in order to get food for grocery shopping, finding recipes that would suit your family. Look no further!

Spend more time with your family, while someone else does the dirty work…

While searching through the internet while planning my meals I came across a great website eMealsthat does all this stuff for you! Seriously!

eMeals.com is a very basic and simple idea, I’m really surprised there’s not more companies like this one out there!

Gluten Free, Clean eating, Paleo, Low Carb, Natural/organic, Vegetarian.. no problem! Pick your plan based on the way you eat and the size of your family. You can also choose which

grocery store you shop at!

Each week eMeals will send you your meal plan with 7 simple family-friendly recipes that include both a side dish and entree. You’ll also get a detailed grocery list that is organized by section and coordinated with weekly sales at each store!

MY GOSH!! They make it so simple, what a brilliant idea! They help you save money too.. gotta love that!

Everything you thought you knew about Cholesterol was WRONG!

I have to admit, Dr. Oz is surprising me this past week or so! I might actually start watching the show more often!

First he has Dr. William Davis on his show talking about how wheat is evil, which it is.

Now he has 2 more Doctors on his show who say Everything you know about Cholesterol is wrong, which is true.

An eye opener

It is refreshing tosee a doctor who is a huge influence on the health of the general public coming out with this information. It goes against what we think is healthy, what we think we are doing right. It’s controversial but I breathe a sigh of relief when I see in the media information like this getting out there.

It gives me hope that one day (hopefully soon) the way we do things will change. The foods we see on store shelves, in our restaurants will change. Health food will really be healthy, doctors will prescribe proper nutrition and not doling out drugs for every little health problem.

People really don’t want to believe that the foods they know and love are doing more harm to them then they can ever imagine!

Dr. Oz, thank you for this small step in the right direction.

If you missed his earlier show “are you addicted to wheat” click the next link to view that 3 part segment! You’ll be glad you did!

Author of Wheat Belly Dr. William Davis

The Dr. Oz show is not always my favourite show on Television because of the contradictory information that I find there BUT I have to admit the show last week caught my attention.

One of my favourite authors Dr. William Davis was on the show and he was there to talk to Dr. Oz about wheat and why it’s one of the most toxic foods you can eat.

I know Dr. Oz was intrigued after reading Dr. Davis’ best selling book Wheat Belly. So he brought Dr. Davis onto his show to ask him questions and get the word out on this toxic food in disguise as a “Health Food”

Check out the 3 videos that are posted on the Dr. Oz website to see the full 15 minute segment. It’s very interesting and shocking to those who didn’t realize they were eating something so incredibly bad for them.

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Well its been a while since I posted anything and things haven’t been going as well as I had hoped, weight wise I mean. All the rest of the things in my life are going great, my daughter is 7 months old already! My god! I still can’t believe how fast she is growing, she is such a sweetheart!

The thing I am not happy about now is my weight. I had only managed to gain 5 lbs after the baby.. It was actually 25 lbs total but I lost 20 lbs right away once I had her. Now I’m up to 15 lbs of weight gain and I have plenty of excuses.. the fact of the matter is, I gained and I shouldn’t have.

I had joined the gym recently with my full intention of losing again. The gym was close to where I lived but I just couldn’t find the time with an active baby and her sleep schedule being all over the place.. Not to mention I just really didn’t like the gym at all. Yeah it was closer to where I live but they just didn’t have equipment that I enjoyed using, needless to say it just didn’t work.

The food is where my problem is.. this really is the only thing that has changed since I had the baby. When I was pregnant I was eating really healthy. Up until I started supplementing with formula. At which point I guess I just figured what’s the point, she’s not getting much nutrition from me anyways. Probably not the best decision.. from that point on it was downhill.

When you are away from sugary foods and gluten, you really do forget how addictive they are and how incredibly hard it is to get away from them again. It’s like they call your name, all the time. What’s one more piece of toast, or one more cup of hot chocolate?

I tell myself that I don’t have the time to make big meals and freeze them or plan meals ahead of time. It’s crazy the amount of time spent doing things at home for the baby and I still feel like I’ve gotten absolutely nothing done!

It’s time to change some of my priorities right now and make the time for my health. I know I can do it, I did it before. Yeah I didn’t have a baby at the time but who’s to say I can’t do it again? I need to prove it to myself that I can do this again.. baby in tow.

I do have an advantage this time around. I know I can do it. The first time I was 70-80 lbs over weight and I had never lost weight before. Never! I didn’t think it was possible. NOW, I know it is. I just have to plan better. Plus it’s only 15 lbs.. I’ve lost 60 lbs, I’m sure I can lose 15 lbs!

Here are the steps I need to make to make some changes in my life once again.

1. Drink water – I’ve been drinking more juice and juice = sugar. Even fruit just is not like having a piece of fruit. A piece of fruit has fiber which aids in digesting the fruit sugar. Fruit juice has no fiber at all it’s just pure sugar.. Sugar that ultimately turns into fat.. Water it is..

2. Plan meals ahead of time – I haven’t done this in a while and it has so many advantages. Yes it takes time but it also saves on buying a bunch of groceries I’m not going to use and eventually gets thrown out. It also makes it easy for me to cook ahead because I have the ingredients and when I’m rushed, I don’t need to actually think about what to eat. I know already. I just grab it and go. Solution = make time to plan..

3. Stop eating gluten – I am gluten intolerant. I know that for sure but it’s so incredibly difficult to stay away from the stuff. It’s everywhere! Summertime is hard because you have BBQ’s, you go out for dinner or you visit friends or go on an adventure. Gluteny foods is all you have to eat at some places. I have many health problems just from eating gluten, it needs to go back out of my life and I need to be more careful. That’s all their is to it. No more excuses. I need to plan for situations where I know I won’t have many food options. Solution = stop buying it, stay away from it, plan better.

4. Stay away from sugar – yeah sugar. The food that is as addictive as heroin. Seriously it is.. there are studies out there that prove it. I can’t stay away from the stuff. I have this ongoing battle in my brain. Oh what’s the difference if you have a glass of juice, what’s it going to hurt? I drink it then I regret it. Seriously, did I really need to just drink that glass of juice? It’s unbelievable how easily you talk yourself into stuff like that.. and you really don’t think about the consequences fully until you’ve already ingested the stuff. It’s like this brain fog. Your brain doesn’t work properly until you’ve ingested the food. Then you can think clearly, that’s when you regret your decision. Sugar causes more health problems then you are probably aware of, it’s toxic to your body, causes inflammation EVERYWHERE… Solution= stop buying the stuff! Seriously Tiana! Cut it out!

5. Outside Aisle grocery shopping – I have to admit I am starting to spend time in the inner aisles of the grocery store. Probably has something to do with the fact that I don’t plan ahead. Outer aisles are healthier – inner aisles have processed foods, gluten, sugar. Things I don’t need. Tiana stay away from the inner aisles would you.

There you have it, my top 5 things I need to do to lose weight. Notice how exercise isn’t even on my list? That’s because I have lost weight consistently, and healthfully without the exercise. It is all about the foods you eat. Think of exercise as a way of strengthening, not a way of losing weight. Yeah it helps a bit but it’s not a main factor in weight loss. That’s where I have been wrong for so many years. I look at exercise as a way to strengthen my muscles(Especially the ever important heart muscle) to be strong, to improve my endurance and to make it easier to play longer.

Also wanted to say that I need to start reading up on my favourite blog – www.dietdoctor.com I love this blog, it reminds me just how good it is for you to eat Low Carb, High Fat. Why sugar is bad and it has tons of great info, studies, athletes, doctors and scientists advice, videos.. it’s really just a great site! Check it out if you haven’t already.